Bollito misto is a Northern Italian boiled dinner of boiled meats, particularly along the Po Valley. It means literally “mixed boil.” It is a traditional New Year’s Eve dish in northern Italy.
There is no one single classic recipe. In fact, there are different regional styles, such as Piedmont versus Verona. On big occasions, the dish can entail 7 kinds of meat, 7 veg, and 7 condiments.
The variety of meats used tends to make it too much for a family to ordinarily make for itself except on special occasions, so some “fancy” restaurants offer it on weekends.
Meats used can include chicken, cow tongue, pig’s feet, calf’s head, capon, cotechino, and ox tail. They are simmered until tender.
Fatty meat items such as zampone or cotechino are simmered separately before joining the rest.
The vegetables in the pot are usually celery, onion and a few carrots to flavour the broth.
The condiments are made while the meats are simmering. The condiments are really what makes the meal. They can include a red sauce (salsa rossa), a green sauce (salsa verde), “poor man’s” sauce, honey sauce, mustard, horseradish, Mostarda d’uva (sort of a jam made from grape must), coarse sea salt, balsamic vinegar (in Emiglia) and Pearà.
To serve, the meats are sliced up, and put on a platter with a splash of hot broth on them. The meat is served with side vegetables, prepared separately.
The broth can be used to serve Tortellini in as a first course, and / or be frozen for use for another dish.
